Universities might aspire to teaching excellence, but do they enable academic teachers to make good teaching decisions? Using a critical realist perspective, a qualitative interview study in England and Australia explored academics' experiences of teaching decisions and their responses to strategic, institutional and departmental teaching policy…

This paper explores the use of Critical Communicative Methodology (CCM) as a collaborative research approach to co-construct knowledge with participants in a research project aimed to enhance the inclusion of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in three mainstream schools in England. The paper discusses how…

The public sector apprenticeship target was introduced in 2017. Under this, public sector bodies with 250 or more staff in England have a target to employ an average of at least 2.3% of their staff as new apprentice starts over the period of 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2021. Public sector bodies are required to submit data annually on the number…

Following lockdowns in 2020 owing to COVID-19, schools needed to find a way to ensure the education of their pupils. In order to do this, they engaged in digital learning, to varying extents. Innovations emanated from all school staff including, for example, teachers, leaders and teaching assistants. Some were already innovating in this area and…

Reviews have called for the greater involvement of autistic young people in developing methods for eliciting their views. Methodologically, co-design is important for developing credible and acceptable approaches; conceptually and practically, co-design offers a means through which to address the double empathy problem for research and practice,…

The Skills for Jobs White Paper and funding and accountability consultation set out the Government's plans to introduce a greater focus on the outcomes of learning, including a new Skills Measure that looks at the employment and other outcomes that learners achieve. Will this give colleges and providers greater freedom to deliver for learners, or…

This small-scale research project investigated the impact of a person-centred planning (PCP) tool -- Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) -- with children and young people (CYP) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream settings. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the perceived impact of the PATH…

Physically active lessons present a key paradigm shift in educational practice. However, little is known about the barriers to implementing physically active lessons. To address this, 31 practising primary teachers (23 = female) from 9 primary schools across West Yorkshire, England, were engaged in focus group interviews. Drawing on the…

Many professionals and families have expressed enthusiasm about annual reviews that implement a person-centred philosophy. Person-centred planning (PCP) has been perceived to facilitate a transition process, as well as supporting the key features of pupil involvement and family participation. This paper focuses on the way in which person-centred…

Aims: 'I am…' Digital Stories are short videos designed to provide a holistic, strengths-based representation of the child through enabling them to contribute their perspectives to transition planning. Digital Stories have potential during periods in which professionals are unable to physically visit settings or spend time getting to know a child.…

The research explored the perception of the incorporation of 'future-self' for young people (YP) and their parents as part of transition planning when moving from specialist provision into mainstream further education (FE) and adulthood. Imagined 'future-selves' is thought to influence an individual to work towards their aspired self. The research…

Attracting international students has become a strategic priority for UK immigration policy as well as for British universities. However, research shows that there are emergent intercultural barriers that challenge international students' carrier aspirations and inhibit their ability to find employment. Also, small business employers (SMEs) are…

Strategic government interventions in public education have shifted and blurred the boundaries between state, market and civil society modes of governance. Within this matrix of interdependent relations, schools operate under increasingly hybrid accountability arrangements in which public accountability can both complement and compete with market…

As the number of older people in society increases, gaining an awareness of the needs of an aging population is important for university students from all academic backgrounds. Using a multidisciplinary approach to aging, we developed a new teaching module (NU-AGE [Newcastle University Aging Generations Education]) aimed at students enrolled in…

This study, jointly conducted by the University of Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) and SQW Ltd., discusses the UK Government's intention to accelerate the process of ceding more responsibility for delivering a range of services to the local level. The logic is that local actors are better placed to identify local priorities. This…